Middlefield's Wadsworth Falls, 2 Other CT State Parks Reopened

Updated at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 28, 2016: Wadsworth Falls State Park was reopened for swimming on Thursday, July 28, according to state officials.

High levels of bacteria were discovered in the water on Wednesday, prompting the park's temporary closure. Gardner Lake in Salem and Squantz Pond in New Fairfieldalso were temporarily closed Wednesday for the same reason, and both also have been reopened.

Original story: NEW FAIRFIELD, CT — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reported Wednesday that three state parks are closed for swimming due to high levels of bacteria in the water.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the following swimming areas are closed:

• Gardner Lake, Salem
• Squantz Pond, New Fairfield
• Wadsworth Falls, Middlefield

DEEP officials will re-test the water later in the day on Wednesday.

Another New Fairfield beach, Candlewood Town Park, closed earlier this month due to blue-green algae. According to the Candlewood Lake Authority (CLA), the threshold for the blue-green algae, also known as microcystin toxin, in State of CT guidance for public beaches is 15 parts per billion (ppb).

The following test results were reported last Thursday:

Danbury Town Park (0.152 ppb)
Brookfield Town Park (0.261 ppb)
Lynn Deming Town Park (0.338 ppb)
New Fairfield Town Park ( 0.255 ppb)
Sherman Town Park (0.137 ppb)
Squantz Pond Park 1 (0.135 ppb)

The CLA and Western Connecticut State University launched a pilot program this year to study and sample water at Squantz Pond, Lake Zoar and other spots on Lake Candlewood to monitor unhealthy levels of toxic blue-green algae.

Read more here:

Candlewood Lake Authority Warns of Harmful Blue-Green Algae Blooms

Candlewood Lake Authority Warns of Blue-Green Algae, New Fairfield Beach Closed

Photo by Nicola Clark via Flickr Creative Commons